Chapter 621

Chapter 621: Spirit Gathering Formation Celestial Tool Core

In Xu Fan’s courtyard, Xu Gang was holding onto the Golden Little Dragon that wanted to go out and play.

“With four claws, it’s clear its bloodline isn’t pure,” Xu Fan mused, stroking his chin.

“Master, do you really not know the status of four-clawed true dragons in the Thousand Worlds?”

“If raised properly, it could become a guardian dragon at the Golden Immortal realm.”

“Of course, we’ll need to inform the Dragon Race beforehand; otherwise, they’ll cause trouble,” Li Xingci added, sharing knowledge he’d gained from his dreams.

Xu Fan nodded, recalling that the Equal Contract he’d had them sign was meant to avoid future issues with the Dragon Race.

Observing the Golden Little Dragon’s rapid absorption of spiritual energy, Xu Fan was struck by the realization that five more eggs were still unhatched.

After a quick calculation of the energy consumption rates of the six ancestors and the Star-Swallowing Snake, an energy crisis loomed once again.

At that moment, Xu Gang loosened his grip, and the little four-clawed golden dragon shot out like a rocket, soaring joyfully through the air.

It darted up to play with the auspicious beasts formed by the Five Elements of Spiritual Energy, then dove into the mountains to startle small animals.

Even the Cloud Flower Deer, which had been affectionately nuzzling its mate, was distracted.

“Awwooo~”

The adorable dragon roar brought laughter to everyone in the courtyard.

“Given their current energy consumption, the Hidden Spirit Sect’s Spirit Gathering Formation will need at least four more celestial tool cores,” Xu Fan remarked, watching the four-clawed golden dragon.

“Master, if it’s too much, we could just let things take their course. It might grow a bit slower, but it’ll be fine,” Li Xingci suggested.

“Absolutely not! Since it was born in my Hidden Spirit Sect, it shouldn’t suffer such neglect.”

“If word gets out, people might think our Hidden Spirit Sect can’t even afford to raise a few Divine Beasts,” Xu Fan said.

Just then, the sound of cracking eggshells echoed from the spiritual liquid lake.

Another Dragon Egg had hatched—this one belonging to Xu Yuexian.

Xu Yuexian, who had been in seclusion, was summoned and blinked in confusion at the little four-clawed golden dragon before her.

Li Xingci, meanwhile, was staring thoughtfully at the little dragon.

“Is something wrong?” Xu Fan asked, noticing his disciple’s expression.

“The stronger a dragon’s bloodline, the harder it is to produce offspring. A four-clawed golden dragon is already significant enough to be recognized by the Dragon Race and added to their lineage.”

“But that’s not the main point. What’s astonishing is that this batch has produced *two* four-clawed golden dragons,” Li Xingci said, clearly impressed.

“I thought only one of these six eggs would carry the true dragon bloodline, but two emerged. If the Dragon Race finds out, the father will definitely be praised.”

“Ah… the dragon will be praised,” Xu Fan said, barely suppressing a smirk. He didn’t voice his true thoughts.

During *that* particular incident, Xu Fan had seen it all.

The sham dragon had pulled off an incredibly challenging feat as if it had been refined through countless trials, succeeding on the first try.

“Having two true dragons in one batch is exceedingly rare in the Dragon Race,” Li Xingci emphasized.

At that moment, it seemed as though a chain reaction had begun.

Xu Fan’s Dragon Egg also cracked open, and another adorable dragon roar echoed through the air.

This time, before Xu Fan could even reach out, the four-clawed golden dragon transformed into a streak of golden light and darted straight into Xu Fan’s arms.

“How do you explain this?” Xu Fan asked, clearly puzzled.

Li Xingci looked as if his entire worldview had been shattered, unsure of how to respond.

“Maybe the dragon dad will get even more praise,” Li Xingci muttered under his breath.

Xu Fan watched the four-clawed golden dragon squirming in his arms and realized he needed to take matters into his own hands.

“Looks like I’ll have to step in,” Xu Fan said.

“Master, is it really that serious?” Li Xingci asked, his brow furrowed.

“Absolutely! I’m guessing the other three Dragon Eggs will hatch one after another in the next few years. By then, our Hidden Spirit Sect’s spiritual energy will probably be completely drained,” Xu Fan replied, his expression grave.

Right now, the Hidden Spirit Sect was like a massive machine running at full throttle. Keeping it going was manageable, but if it ever stopped, restarting it would come at a huge cost.

“You all take your little dragons back for now. I’ll refine a few batches of Five Elements Pills first,” Xu Fan said, wanting to tackle the immediate problem.

“Then, this disciple will take his leave.”

Xu Gang, Xu Yuexian, and Li Xingci bowed and left.

In the dedicated alchemy room, Xu Fan glanced at the Artifact-level alchemy furnace and sighed.

“Looks like I’ll need to upgrade the equipment soon. At the very least, we’ll need a proper artifact-level alchemy furnace,” Xu Fan said.

“For now, this’ll have to do. Next time, I’ll refine a fully automatic alchemy furnace.”

Puppets brought over the necessary spiritual herbs, and Xu Fan dove headfirst into the world of alchemy.

He stayed immersed for three whole months.

It wasn’t until he’d used up all the spiritual herbs from the sect’s treasury that Xu Fan finally snapped out of his focused state.

“With these 100 batches, I should have enough top-quality Five Elements Pills to last a good while,” Xu Fan said, smiling as he looked at the rows of jade bottles on the ground.

Xu Fan then instructed Grape to store the Five Elements Pills in the sect’s treasury.

“Now, I just need to figure out how to gather the rest of the celestial energy spirit ore.”

As Xu Fan spoke, he pushed open the door to the alchemy room.

“Grape, has the spiritual energy consumption really gotten this bad while I’ve been refining pills for the past three months?” Xu Fan asked.

“Master, the Spirit Gathering Formation can no longer produce enough spiritual energy to meet the demand.”

“We’re also having to dip into the spiritual liquid from the spiritual liquid lake every day,” Grape explained.

“In that case, let’s activate the fasting Spirit Gathering Formation from the demon race. Otherwise, we won’t even be able to keep up with the consumption,” Xu Fan decided.

“Looks like I’ll have to go give First Clone a nudge.”

With that, Xu Fan flew toward the underground space.

In the underground space, First Clone was casually refining the Spirit Gathering Formation artifact core.

“Main Body, I hear you’ve been working hard lately!” First Clone greeted with a grin.

“What choice do I have? The sect’s spiritual energy is running low, and as the Grand Elder, I’ve got to find a solution,” Xu Fan replied.

“So your solution is to come here and nudge me?” First Clone said, anticipating Xu Fan’s words.

“First Clone, you’re underestimating me! I didn’t come just to nudge you—I’m here to refine this celestial tool with you,” Xu Fan declared, summoning a ball of Phoenix Divine Fire in his hand and joining First Clone in refining the Spirit Gathering Formation artifact core.

First Clone glanced at Xu Fan and chuckled. “Seems like this is pretty urgent.”

“Of course it is! Otherwise, why would I come in person?” Xu Fan replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“In that case, let’s stop chatting and speed things up. Let’s finish refining this celestial tool first.”

Xu Fan nodded, and together with First Clone, he focused on refining the celestial tool.

Another three months passed, and the celestial tool was finally complete.